The Scholomance (SKOH-loh-mance), a vile academy for prospective necromancers of the Scourge, is located in the ruins of the palatial House of Barov, on a rise overlooking the abandoned city of Caer Darrow. The enemy level range is 40 - 43 and requires that you be at least level 33 to enter (level 38 to queue via Dungeon Finder).

Many mini-bosses were removed when the instance was revamped for Mists of Pandaria.

Prior to being re-tuned for a lower level range with Patch 4.0.3a, Scholomance was probably the single most efficient pre- instance for farming, with trash runs up to the Great Ossuary taking about 45 minutes for a fast player, and potentially yielding 100-200, depending on which rare items dropped. The instance had a very rich loot table for the level range, and individual mobs tended to drop good amounts of both coins and [Runecloth], which generally sold well on the Auction House. In addition, necromancers and dark summoners (as well as a few of the bosses) dropped the prized [Dark Runes], which were useful for raiders and could command prices of 15-20 each on the Auction House. It was not uncommon for 3-4 to drop during a single run, adding potentially another 80 to the instance's yield.

Contents

History

The Scholomance was founded by the rogue wizard Kel'Thuzad nearly ten years ago. His Cult of the Damned renovated the ancient crypts beneath Caer Darrow (an old Arathorian fortress) and turned them into a school for necromancy. The Cult used this place to train its mortal agents and prepare to unleash the Plague of Undeath upon Lordaeron. It has been brewing with young talented wizards and adepts all this time. No one in Lordaeron knew. Originally, the Barov family (of Alterac) owned the land and gave it to the Cult in exchange for the Lich King's blessing of immortality. Now the Barovs remain as undead monsters. One of Kel'Thuzad's mightiest agents, the Ravenian, also lives within the recesses of the school — ever ready to devour those students who show any sign of weakness. The lichRas Frostwhisper rules over the site and guards it for the Scourge, but the mortal necromancer, Darkmaster Gandling, serves as headmaster of the school, succeeding Araj the Summoner who was headmaster after Kel'thuzad.

From old World Dungeons site:

The Scholomance is housed within a series of crypts that lie beneath the ruined keep of Caer Darrow. Once owned by the noble Barov family, Caer Darrow fell into ruin following the Second War. As the wizard Kel'thuzad enlisted followers for his Cult of the Damned, he would often promise immortality in exchange for serving the Lich King. The Barov family fell to Kel'thuzad's charismatic influence and donated the keep and its crypts to the Scourge. The cultists then killed the Barovs and turned the ancient crypts into a school for necromancy known as the Scholomance. Though Kel'thuzad no longer resides in the crypts, devoted cultists and instructors still remain. The powerful lich, Ras Frostwhisper, rules over the site and guards it in the Scourge's name — while the mortal necromancer, Darkmaster Gandling, serves as the school's insidious headmaster.

In Cataclysm

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Difficulty pre-Cataclysm

At release, Scholomance was an extremely challenging dungeon. Typically, the dungeon was raided in 10-man parties, with a difficulty similar to Upper Blackrock Spire. Subsequent patches in the summer of 2006 changed Scholomance drastically. Mobs were weakened slightly, and a great many were removed. However, Scholomance could no longer be run with more than 5 party members. At the time, this "Scholo Nerf" was a common topic for party chat among long-time players. Loot in Scholomance has changed gradually over time. Originally, each boss dropped some relatively weak loot. The dungeon waned in popularity as players saw little point in running it after they had completed their quests and acquired their Dungeon Set 1 hat. Blizzard again patched the dungeon. At this point, Scholomance dropped a moderate amount of fairly useful items, including a very small chance at the epic [Headmaster's Charge] and [Alanna's Embrace]. The rewards available from the Argent Dawn also broadened through patches. Scholomance was a staple source of Argent Dawn reputation and Scourgestones. Players seeking Argent Dawn tradeskill recipes, resistance enchantments or Armaments of the Dawn often spent a great deal of time in Scholomance or Stratholme.

Trivia

According to Romanian legend, a real Scholomance exists by an unnamed lake in the mountains south of the city of Hermannstadt (called Sibiu in Romanian) in Transylvania. This school of black magic is said to be run by the Devil, and would accept only ten students at a time. The tenth would remain to serve the Devil as payment for his teachings. The Scholomance in WoW is placed in the middle of the lake, much like its legendary namesake. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Count Dracula is said to have spent several years training under the Devil in the Scholomance. It is referenced in both Stoker's novel and an article titled "Transylvanian Superstitions" on page 136 of The Nineteenth Century by Emily Gerard.

Trivia

According to early blue posts: Scholomance was originally thought of as an outdoor non-instanced area, much smaller, where Uther's Tomb is now. The designers made it so visually stunning that it was turned into an instance, so that it could be moved and enlarged.

Characters dying in the instanced portions of Scholomance will now correctly receive a corpse marker in the minimap and see the message letting them know that they need to enter the instance before they will be able to resurrect.